“This report is about community-based organizations serving South Asians in the United States. The report seeks to synthesize the results of a needs assessment conducted by SAALT while highlighting best practices and recommendations for stakeholders to better assist South Asian organizations, and by extension, the South Asian communities served. The primary findings gained through surveys and interviews of 31 organizations include: * South Asian organizations are relatively young. Nearly three-quarters of the groups surveyed were established after 1990 to respond to visible and immediate needs. Groups need adequate resources and training to develop internal infrastructure and processes related to governance, fiscal management, and organizational development. * South Asian organizations utilize a variety of ‘human resources’ – from boards to staff to volunteers. Organizations utilize staff and volunteers, with the number of staff-driven groups being equal to the number of volunteer-driven groups. Groups need opportunities for sustainable peer exchange, support, and training to address these issues. * The majority of South Asian organizations operate on budgets of less than $500,000. Groups do a lot with little. Regardless of budget size, groups identified development support as a high priority need, with particular emphasis on cultivating relationships with individual South Asian donors. * South Asian organizations use innovative methods to reach the community. Organizations use ethnic media, translated services, and partnerships with each other or mainstream groups to reach community members. Groups highlighted the need for accurate translated materials as a vital component of effective community outreach. For example, only about a third of the groups surveyed offer translated print materials, highlighting a special need for expanded language resources and support in multiple languages. * South Asian organizations observe the need to link service provision with organizing and advocacy. Organizations conduct a range of activities that stretch them beyond their mission statements. Groups identified issues related to immigration and the treatment of immigrants as core concerns that need to be addressed through a variety of strategies.” This description is reproduced here with the permission of the South Asian American Leaders of Tomorrow (SAALT), 2007.
